Demography
Volume 40, Issue 3, 2003, Pages 437-450

Do amnesty programs reduce undocumented immigration? Evidence from Irca (Article)

Orrenius P.M.* , Zavodny M.
  • a Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2200 North Pearl Street, Dallas, TX 75201, United States
  • b Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, United States, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

This article examines whether mass legalization programs reduce future undocumented immigration. We focus on the effects of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted amnesty to nearly 2.7 million undocumented immigrants. We report that apprehensions of persons attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally declined immediately following passage of the law but returned to normal levels during the period when undocumented immigrants could file for amnesty and the years thereafter. Our findings suggest that the amnesty program did not change long-term patterns of undocumented immigration from Mexico.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

evaluation law enforcement Socioeconomic Factors Emigration and Immigration socioeconomics regression analysis statistics Mexico Article program evaluation crime United States human Humans migration legal aspect health care quality
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-2942579091&partnerID=40&md5=46dcc9bf2e48b8d7e5229729da764703
ISSN: 00703370
Cited by: 51
Original Language: English